29 Apr 2012

THEN: The formation of
the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of
unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are
things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and
part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas's life. Until that
world starts to crumble.

NOW: It's 1985. Freya Kallas has just
moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in
at her new high school, but Freya feels nothing but removed. Her mother
blames it on the grief over her father's death, but how does that
explain the headaches and why do her memories feel so foggy?

When
Freya lays eyes on Garren Lowe, she can't get him out of her head.
She's sure that she knows him, despite his insistence that they've never
met. As Freya follows her instincts and pushes towards hidden truths,
the two of them unveil a strange and dangerous world where their days
may be numbered.

Unsure who to trust, Freya and Garren go on
the run from powerful forces determined to tear them apart and keep them
from discovering the truth about their shared pasts (and futures), her
visions, and the time and place they really came from.

The idea for this story is very interesting. It's a mix of political/futuristic/ya that I had not read before. I have to admit that this book was a little slow paced for me so it took me a little while to get into the story. I would have to say that the first 1/3 of this book was lead up to the action that was going to take place later on in the story and although enjoyable to read, this was the part that was slow for me as I was waiting for all the action to take place.

This story was also based
half in the future and half in the 80s. Now, I was born in 1981 so a
lot of the 80s is a bit of a blur for me as I was so young. In the
parts of this story that were in the 80s, there were lots of references
to 80s people, music etc that I could not relate to and I think that is
probably why it took me a while to get into the story.

If I had to describe this story in a sentence, I would have to say that it is a puzzle that needs to be put back together. Every step you take, you are given a little bit more information to fit into the puzzle and that is what I really enjoyed about this book. It certainly kept me thinking all the way through trying to figure out what was going on.

For me, this was a mix of a very good storyline mixed with slow paced action. I am glad that I stuck it out to finish it because this story had a good ending.Best wishes

26 Apr 2012

Mirabelle's past is
shrouded in secrecy, from her parents' tragic deaths to her guardians'
half-truths about why she can't return to her birthplace, Beau Rivage.
Desperate to see the town, Mira runs away a week before her sixteenth
birthday—and discovers a world she never could have imagined.

In
Beau Rivage, nothing is what it seems—the strangely pale girl with a
morbid interest in apples, the obnoxious playboy who's a beast to
everyone he meets, and the chivalrous guy who has a thing for damsels in
distress. Here, fairy tales come to life, curses are awakened, and
ancient stories are played out again and again.

But fairy tales
aren't pretty things, and they don't always end in happily ever after.
Mira has a role to play, a fairy tale destiny to embrace or resist. As
she struggles to take control of her fate, Mira is drawn into the lives
of two brothers with fairy tale curses of their own . . . brothers who
share a dark secret. And she'll find that love, just like fairy tales,
can have sharp edges and hidden thorns.

OMG what a great YA fiction story. I have to be honest and say, straight up, that the cover did draw me into this one. There's just something about an innocent rose covered in what looks like blood that makes me think, what on earth is this story is about, I just had to find out what that was about. I was so glad that I did.

This story is not like any story I have read before. It has a great mix of various fairytales intertwined with various characters that Mirabelle meets when she ends up in her birthplace, Beau Rivage. Mirabelle wants to find out more about her past and more about her parents who died when she was little so just before she turns sixteen she decides to go and find out. Little does she know that there are far more secrets in Beau Rivage than she could have ever expected.

Not only does this story have a great spin on fairytales but it does have that classic love triangle with Mirabelle being smack bang in the middle of. What will she choose.

I absolutely loved this story and for all those out there who love a bit of love triangle romance mixed with fairytale magic, this is the story for you....

Sixteen-year-old Dani is
convinced she has nine lives. As a child she twice walked away from
situations where she should have died. But Dani’s twin, Jena, isn’t so
lucky. She has cancer and might not even be able to keep her one life.
Dani’s father is in denial. Her mother is trying to hold it together and
prove everything’s normal. And Jena is wasting away.

To cope,
Dani sets out to rid herself of all her extra lives. Maybe they’ll be
released into the universe and someone who wants to live more than she
does will get one. Someone like Jena. But just when Dani finds herself
at the breaking point, she’s faced with a startling realization. Maybe
she doesn’t have nine lives after all. Maybe she really only ever had
one.

24 Apr 2012

Britt Baxter is unaware
of the effect she has on people. A big-hearted, no nonsense northern
girl, she naturally looks for the best in everyone she meets, but in her
attempts to make it as model she finds she struggles against being
pinned down on the casting couch by the most unlikely people…

So when a
happy accident lands her a career as a presenter on breakfast
television, it looks as if she has made it out of the modelling world of
close-ups and cattle calls and into the big time – or at least daytime
TV. But scarcely has Britt had time to wonder at how far she has come,
when backstage machinations propel her with ever increasing speed
through a series of trapdoors and she soon realises that the drama
backstage far eclipses anything that happens in front of the camera.
Tess Daly has written a fast-paced novel with perfect comic timing and
as many twists and turns in the plot as her heroine has costume changes.

Right when I was feeling a bit overloaded with reading a lot of paranormal stories, here comes this utterly fantastic chicklit book that makes me laugh, cry, frown and cheer and sometimes all at once! I really cannot tell you how much I loved this story, oh wait... yes I can.... I LOVED IT!

Britt Baxter is a character that stands up for what is right and not afraid to take chances. We follow her at the start being a model and going for an absolutely shocking interview where it comes down to the fact that if she wants the job she will have to sleep with the interviewee. I felt that Britt made absolutely the right decision. She travels to Tokyo, on the advice of her agent, to try modelling out there but when something unexpected happens to a member of her family, she returns home.

Aside from her career, Britt has a lot on her plate to deal with in the love department. At the beginning of the story, she has a boyfriend although my feeling at the time was that it was a situation that was not working for either of them.

Poor Britt in this
story has a lot of ups and downs but this is one tough character and I
was completely rooting for her all the way through.

What made this story even more intriguing to me is the fact that the author Tess Daly was a model and also a presenter so that made me think about how much of this story was actually based on real life. I have popped a link to her Wikipedia page above if you want to learn more.

Ima would give anything
to escape The Dome and learn what’s beyond its barriers, but the
Chicago government has kept all its citizens on lockdown ever since the
Scorched Years left most of the world a desert wasteland. When a
mysterious group of hooded figures enters the city unexpectedly, Ima
uncovers a plot to destroy The Dome and is given the choice between
escaping to a new, dangerous city or staying behind and fighting a
battle she can never win.

I have to admit that at the start of this story I was thinking what on earth is going to happen in this story but when the hooded characters came onto the scene, things became very interesting indeed!

I did find it confusing when halfway through the story, Ima decided to change her name to Cinder. Although I completely understand why she did it in the story, because she was becoming a new person and wanted a new identity, it took me a while to catch up and try and remember that every time I read the name Cinder, it was Ima..

What I thought was really enjoyable about this book was the fact that Ima/Cinder definitely has quite a few chaps wanting her attention (if you know what I mean ;-) and watching her reaction to those advances.

After Ima/Cinder learning that all may not be what she seems, she has to make some really tough decisions but I felt that she chose the right ones.

Things are definitely not what they seem in this story and there are a lot of secrets to be uncovered and not a lot of time to uncover them.

Without spoiling the ending, I will just say that there is a very surprising twist that I was completely not expecting...

23 Apr 2012

Since she'd been on the
outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her
throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from
her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of
surviving in the outer wasteland - known as The Death Shop - are slim.
If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms
will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her.
Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild - a savage - and her
only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless
landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile - everything he
would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone
holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and
Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges
a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never
sky.

What a great futuristic story. This is a post apolcaliptic story of people who live in domes who communicate with each other via 'realms' on something like an internet that is connected to your body via a eye piece. This is definately a very interesting idea, with the thought that you could be sitting in your little dome room on the one hand but on the other you could be having drinks at a party in a medieval realm or something like that. But as we know with a lot of futuristic stories, things are not always what they seem. Who are the baddies and who are the heros?

Aria is the main character that we follow in this story. Her mother works in medicine in another part of the dome. One day she loses contact with her mother and desperate to find out what happens decides to take matters into her own hands. Things get very out of control and Aria finds herself out of her depth and fighting for survival.

This is such a great story with a great romance tucked in there as well. I did have to chuckle at a few comments as well between some of the characters especially the moment where Aria finds out that she is having her first period and she is comparing it to death, thinking that she is dying. Being a woman, I can completely relate to that lol!!!

19 Apr 2012

Jackson Godspeed is the hottest young Angel in a city filled with them.

He's
days away from becoming a full Guardian, and people around the world
are already competing for the chance to be watched over by him.
Everyone's obsessed with the Angels and the lucky people they protect -
everyone except for Madison Montgomery.

Maddy's the one girl in
Angel City who doesn't breathlessly follow the Angels on TV and gossip
blogs. When she meets Jackson, she doesn't recognize him. But Jackson is
instantly captivated by her, and against all odds the two fall in love.

Maddy
is swiftly caught up in Jackson's scene, a world of glamour, paparazzi -
and murder. A serial killer is on the loose, leaving dead Angels' wings
for the police to find on the Walk of Fame. Even the Guardians are
powerless to protect themselves in the face of this threat & and
this time it's up to Maddy to save Jackson.

My Review

What a great combination for a story - angels and celebrities. The thought of Angels being celebrities in the human world intrigued me so much I knew I had to read this story. Basically, the Angels have 'come out' to human kind, revealling their existence. Now people know they are there, they set about making money. They set up a 'service' where for a very very high price, you can be 'protected by an angel'.

We follow the story of Maddie who, after her parents died when she was very young, lives with her Uncle Kevin. Kevin runs a diner where Maddie works after school to help out. Things take a turn for Maddie when she meets Jackson Godspeed (who is the Justin Bieber of Angels) but does not really know who he is. There is also something special about Maddie that she cannot put her finger on.

Even though I felt the romance between Jackson and Maddie did happen a bit quick, I really did enjoy this story, the concept of Angels being celebrities and the added murder mystery that weaves through the story.

18 Apr 2012

When good-girl Maddie switches places with her famous bad-girl twin Jackie, she has some pretty high stilettos to fill.

Despite
the danger of tabloid drama if their identity swap is discovered,
Maddie has to save her sister's butt. When Jackie’s ex-boyfriend shows
up with a rekindled spark for “Jackie,” his deep gray eyes and sweet
kisses make Maddie's heart thumpety thump. But dating the guy who dumped
her sister is a no-no. Too bad Dallas isn’t used to girls saying no.
What will happen when he discovers Maddie’s deception?

This is such a great short story. Veronica Blade knows how to write great stories. The characters in this story had such depth that I really felt like I was going through all the feelings the characters were, especially Maddie who is the typical good girl who takes over and pretends to be her celebrity attention-seeking sister. I could also relate a lot to Maddie as she is comfortable with herself and is a reader who likes the comfort of her own home, which is very much like myself.

The only problem for Maddie is that when she is pretending to be her sister, she starts to really like the guy that her sister dated. It seems as though she has a choice to make.

This is a fantastic chick lit story with a great romantic build up and I would definately recommend it to all those who love a good dramatic romance.

16 Apr 2012

The Stag and Hen
Weekend is the story of Phil and Helen, a couple in their thirties about
to commit their lives to one another . . . that is of course if they
can just manage to get through their respective stag and hen weekends
(his: Amsterdam; hers: a country house and day spa in the Peak District)
without falling apart. Told in the unique form of two separate stories
that have common characters as well as themes and conclusion, The Stag
and Hen Weekend can be read from front to back or from back to front
putting the reader in the driver's seat as to which story they wish to
read first. Feisty, fun and thought provoking.

My Review

I enjoyed this book so much I don't know where to start in telling you how fantastic this is. I would have to say that this is more two stories that meet in the middle than one story and both equally as funny, sad and also romantic.

I started off reading the 'Stag' side of the story, which follows Phil and his mates as they head off to Amsterdam. It all starts out like a typical lads weekend until a few dramas unfold and things are not always what they seem. I loved the friendships between the lads and especially the friendship between Phil and his mate Simon who has some revellations of his own.

Moving over to the 'Hen' side of the story, which follows Helen as she heads off to a spa with her friends (and a future sister-in-law that she cannot stand). All goes well until she bumps into her ex who seems to be around every corner.

Although you could read the Hen side first and the Stag side second, I felt like I read this story the right way around with reading the Stag side first. In the Stag side of the story, there are a few questions that do get answered in Hen side.

This was such a great romantic and funny chick lit I could not put it down. Mike Gayle really knows how to write a really good chick lit story, especially when it comes to the woman's perspective.

It’s the end of the
world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is
little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors.
One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a
monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t
sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since
then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the
perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to
fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five
people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the
motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s
fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more
and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

A sparkling first novel in which a Jane Austen devotee decides to find out if she can, indeed, marry for money.Katherine
Shaw is happy with her life. She has supportive friends, a glamorous
magazine career, and a love of all things Jane Austen. So what if her
boyfriend ran off with all her money? So what if she's about to turn
forty? She'll move on.

But when she loses her job, when her beloved
grandmother falls ill and her mother's gambling debts force a sale on
the family home, Kate finds herself facing a crisis that would test even
the most stalwart of Austen heroines. Friends rally round, connecting
her to freelance gigs, and presenting her with a birthday gift-- title
to land in Scotland--that's about to come in very handy.

Turns out that
Kate's first freelance assignment is inspired by Jane Austen herself: is
it possible, in these modern times, to marry for money? It's all
hypothetical, of course, until Kate considers the venture a way to solve
her family's financial woes. What begins as an article turns into an
opportunity as Kate--now Lady Kate--pursues and is pursued, until at
last she is forced to choose between Mr. Rich and Mr. Right.

My Review - 10 out of 10

If you are looking for a really fantastic chick lit book that makes you smile, laugh and almost cry (for all the good reasons), this is the book to pick up. I absolutely loved this book.
We follow Kate in this story who is giong to be turning 40, has not really committed herself to a permanent job and has not yet found the right man.

This story is very much about three things - Kate's family, friends and work. The most heartbreaking part of this story for me was the relationship between Kate and her grandmother. With Kate's mother unable to care for her and her sister, her grandmother brought her up.

As for her love life, there are a few characters that could be Kate's one and only but which one would she choose and will she make the right choice?

9 Apr 2012

Below is the blurb from book 1, Dark Angel. The Goodreads page for Twisted Heart is here.

Tania's heart belongs
to Orlando. Nothing can rip them apart. Until the seduction begins in a
flurry of glamour and magic, music and parties all orchestrated by the
mysterious and mesmerising Zoran, an iconic rock star who has retired to
a remote ranch in the nearby mountains. And there Tania meets the dark
side. Can she resist temptation?

My Review - 6 out of 10

I read this book pretty much straight after reading the first book in the series. The plot in this story is very similar to the plot on Dark Angel. In Dark Angel, you have the friend in trouble and the myterious charactrers and in Twisted Heart you have the same mix so there was an element of same old same old with this story. That being said, it was a very enjoyable story and I did want to find out how it paned out. I'm very intrigued to find out what happens in the third book in the series....

Tania's heart belongs to
Orlando. Nothing can rip them apart. Until the seduction begins in a
flurry of glamour and magic, music and parties all orchestrated by the
mysterious and mesmerising Zoran, an iconic rock star who has retired to
a remote ranch in the nearby mountains. And there Tania meets the dark
side. Can she resist temptation?

This was a very interesting and confusing book for me. It had great suspense and build up even though I was not quite sure what it was building up to and some of the time not quite sure what the build up was.

Tanya lives with her mother and father in this remote place which had been rebuilt after a massive forest fire. She is plagued by nightmares of forest fires coming to get her and hearing strange voices. She is not sure what is happening to her.

Meanwhile, a rock star, Zoran, decides to build a ranch up in Black Rock Mountain but he is not what he seems. After one of Tanya's friends gets into trouble in the mountain, its a race against time to try and save her.

I would like to point out that there is a sensitive issue in this story that I would not recommend to younger readers. (I won't say what that it because I don't want to ruin the story, but if you would like to know, please do email me at debrasbookcafe@gmail.com and I will let you know what this is).

5 Apr 2012

(Mind Reader Series, Book
One) High school junior, Kylie Bates, can suddenly read minds. When she
touches people’s hands, she’s able to see their deepest thoughts. As if
that’s not freaky enough, her dad sends her to help hottie detective,
Sam Williams, track down a missing girl. Way too much pressure,
especially for a girl who can’t watch Scream without getting nightmares.

Then, finding the missing girl leads to much more than Kylie’s
prepared for. Like discovering that her dad has been lying to her. That
she has a family she never knew about. That the girls have powers
similar to hers. Oh yeah, and that someone is out to get her.

When the detective’s teenage wanna-be-cop cousin, Trip Williams,
approaches Kylie at school insisting she help him solve the case, she
discovers Trip might be the only one she can trust, and the only one to
help her unravel the secrets behind her mysterious gift
.

My Review: 9 out of 10

I really enjoyed reading this fast paced paranormal style story. Kylie seemed to come into her powers really quickly and probably based on instinct knew what she had to do, which I enjoyed the most about that character Being able to see someone's deepest thoughts must be quite a scary thing to deal with, but Kylie takes it in her stride.

I did have to feel sorry for her at some parts in the story as there is a guy at the school which she attends that she has a crush on and there goes her best friend flirting with him.. That is definitely not the kind of best friend I would want! But Kylie has much more important things to focus on, especially when it comes to Trip Williams.

Another powerful element to this story is Kylie's relationship with her mother, who unfortunately died when she was a young girl. Kylie keeps a journal and writes letters to her mother telling her all about what is happening.

There are a lot of elements to this story that keeps it fast paced until the very end - mind reading, secrets in the family, secrets surrounding the missing girl, secrets with other characters and so on.

If you like a bit of fast paced paranormal action, this is definitely one to pick up and place on your shelf.

What does it
mean to do wrong, when no one punishes you? A smart and unflinching look
at friendship, the nature of entitlement, and growing up in the
heartland.

Paige Sheridan has the perfect life. She's
pretty, rich, and popular, and her spot on the homecoming court is
practically guaranteed. But when a night of partying ends in an
it-could-have-been-so-much worse crash , everything changes. Her best
friends start ignoring her, her boyfriend grows cold and distant, and
her once-adoring younger sister now views her with contempt. The only
bright spot isher creative writing class, led by a charismatic new
teacher who encourages students to be true to themselves. But who is
Paige, if not the homecoming princess everyone expects her to be? In
this arresting and witty debut, a girl who was once high-school royalty
must face a truth that money and status can't fix, and choose between
living the privileged life of a princess, or owning up to her mistakes
and giving up everything she once held dear.

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone
between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler,
go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and
fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only
hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a
mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be
young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler,
and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place
in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her
renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a
senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie
discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime
Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. .
.

OMG..... This story completely blew me away. First off, I have to say that the cover is absolutely amazing. Its pretty and creepy at the same time. Alluring but slightly frightening.

This story is original right down to the core for me. This is the first time I have read something that has the idea of renting out your body to another human being. Basically, its for people who are older in life but young in spirit and want to relive their youth. The only way they can do this is by, what it seems like to me, trading souls for an amount of days.

For Callie, she has come to the end of the line. With a brother to take care of and no parents or grandparents around, she is tired of having to live on the run. For the amount of money that Prime Destinations offers, Callie figures that she will be in and out in no time and will have plenty of cash to set her and her brother up with somewhere to stay and, most importantly safety and security. Unfortunately for Callie, things are not going to go according to her plan.

As part of the contract with Prime Destinations, she has to take part in three 'donations'. The first two go without a hitch but the third one goes wrong. She wakes up in her own body in a club with no knowledge of how she got there and what is happening. From then on, she has moment where she is back in her own body and there moments where the Elder who has rented her body comes back to take control.

Also, you have the added mystery of the Old Man who runs Prime Destinations. No one seems to know who he is. I have to admit that about three quarters of the way through I did figure out who it was but that certainly did not make the last half of the book any less AMAZING....

2 Apr 2012

During a round of Truth or Dare, Abby Miller confesses her crush on Jake
Chilson. The only people who know her secret are her friends at the
sleepover—and whoever sent her a text message in the middle of the night
warning her to stay away from Jake…or else!

But Abby isn’t going to stay away from Jake, especially not after he asks her to the school dance.

As
the night of the dance comes closer, some very creepy things start
happening to Abby. Someone definitely wants to keep her away from Jake.
Is it a jealous classmate or, as Abby begins to suspect, could it be a
ghost?

My Review: 10 out of 10

If you would like to see the video review, please see the end of this post.

This is such a great creepy book. I believe it is a middle grade but definately a great creepy read for all ages.

This story is creepy right from the beginning when you have Abby who gets this feeling that someone is watching her but there's no one about. This is even before having her sleepover.

At the sleepover, her and her close friends Nora, Chloe and Lea play a game of truth and dare where Abby reveals that she likes Jake. After that, Abby receives frighening messages telling Abby to stay away from Jake and from then on its a guessing game as to who is behind the messages.

There is a great backstory to a year before the sleepover which adds to the mystery of who is sending Abby messages.